=::= Tally's PoV =::=

The mini-van pulled to a stop in the driveway, then Ms. Watson turned and looked back at me and Beth. We were already undoing our seatbelts and getting ready to exit, but we both stopped to look at her when she spoke up.

"I'll be back at eight to pick you girls up," she said, "But if you need me to come sooner don't hesitate to call or text ok? If you need me I can be here in ten minutes."

After a half second she added, "And I'm sure I don't need to say this but so we're completely clear, no magic. Under any circumstances. Ok?"

"Yes ma'am," I replied.

Beth just rolled her eyes then slid open the side-door, "We know mom. Thanks for the ride, we'll call if we need you."

We both straightened our skirts as we got out of the van, then Beth slid the door closed again. Her mom didn't pull out right away, she waited in the driveway and watched as the two of us walked up to the front door.

I hesitated there a moment, and my girlfriend wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a friendly squeeze.

"It's going to be fine Tally," she said quietly.

"Yeah," I replied just as quietly. "I know. It's still a big deal."

After taking a deep breath I reached out and pressed the doorbell, then we both waited. My tail was hanging between my legs and my ears folded down against my head, while Beth's ears were pointing forward. Her tail was down like mine though, so she was wary but not as anxious.

It was less than a minute before the door swung open and I gulped.

"Hi Dylan," I said as I looked up at my brother. "Can we come in?"

He was basically wearing his Sunday best, which was appropriate since today was in fact Sunday. He was in pressed black trousers, a pale blue button-down shirt, and a sweater vest. He even had his hair neatly combed. In short he looked exactly like he did at every other holiday or family get-together. And up until six months ago I'd have been dressed almost exactly the same.

"Ok," my brother replied as he stepped back out of the way.

I continued to feel anxious as my girlfriend and I moved past him into the house. The first thing to hit me was the smell of roasting turkey and trimmings, which seemed to fill the air. The second thing I noticed was all mom's usual autumn decorations up around the house.

As soon as we were inside Dylan closed the door again behind us, while Beth and I took off our shoes and coats. I almost startled slightly when my brother reached out for me, but all he did was take my coat. He took Beth's too, then went and hung them up in the hall closet.

As he was doing that my ears twitched to the sound of footsteps, and a moment later dad emerged from the family room.

"Who's at the door Dylan? Was it -" dad cut himself off when he spotted me and Beth standing there. Then he smiled and came right over, "Tally, it's great to see you again! And Beth too, thanks for coming. Happy thanksgiving to both of you! You both look great by the way."

That made me blush, but I was glad to hear it. I was in a new dress, it was black with some grey and white highlights. It had short puffy sleeves, the skirt went down just past my knees, and I was wearing black pantyhose underneath. Beth was in a cute navy blue pleated skirt over white pantyhose, and a pretty pink blouse ontop. Both of us got our hair styled a couple days earlier, and we'd spent a little extra time on our make-up.

"Hello Mr. Lambert," Beth replied politely.

I added, "Thanks dad, it's good to see you too."

Dad offered me a hug, and I accepted. It was awkward, but it was also nice. When we let go I caught a glimpse of my brother as he disappeared into the family room. It was a pretty safe bet him and dad were both watching TV in there when we arrived.

I ignored him for now as I asked, "I guess mom's busy in the kitchen?"

He shook his head, "She's upstairs getting ready. I'm sure she'll join us in a few minutes."

"Why don't we all head into the family room and get comfortable?" he added. "Can I get you girls something to drink?"

I hesitated, since that's where my brother had gone. Then I asked quietly, "Is Dylan going to be ok with us? He didn't exactly seem happy to see us here?"

Dad grimaced. He nodded and replied in a half-whisper, "Your brother's still having some trouble adjusting to the situation Tally, but he's making an effort. I've had a couple conversations with him, including one last night. I promise he's not going to cause any trouble, ok?"

"Ok dad," I smiled. "Thanks."

He smiled back, "Why don't you girls head in there and get comfy while I grab you something to drink? What can I get for you both?"

"A glass of water would be perfect please," Beth replied.

I nodded, "Water's good, thanks dad."

"Coming right up," he smiled as he headed for the kitchen.

Beth followed me as I led her over to the family room. Sure enough the TV was on, but muted. It looked like my dad and brother were watching football together. Dylan was sitting at one end of the sofa, and he had a can of cola in his hand. A glass of beer sat on a coaster next to dad's recliner.

Dylan watched as Beth followed me over to the love-seat on the far side of the room, but he didn't say anything. My girlfriend and I both wrapped our tails around automatically as we sat down, and out of habit I let my tail flop over onto Beth's lap. Hers ended up on my lap a moment later.

My brother continued to quietly stare at us, and it was just starting to feel creepy when my dad joined us. He was carrying two glasses of water which he handed to Beth and I, then as he moved to sit down he asked "So how's school going Tally, how are you liking grade twelve so far?"

After thanking him for the water I replied, "It's good. It's only been a month, but it feels like I'm doing pretty good? I'm really enjoying my science classes, biology and chemistry are really fascinating."

Dad smiled, but before he could follow up with more questions my ears twitched and focused on the footsteps coming down from upstairs. A few seconds later mom stepped into the family room, then stopped as her eyes swept up and down over me.

"Hello Tally," she smiled. "It's good to see you again. Both you and your girlfriend are looking really pretty. Is that a new dress?"

I blushed and smiled, "Thanks mom. And yeah, I just got this a couple weeks ago."

"Hello Mrs. Lambert," Beth added. "You look really nice today too."

My mom wasn't wearing anything special, just a pair of dark slacks and a white blouse, but her hair was done up nice and it looked like she'd spent more time on her make-up. She had some pretty earrings and a necklace on as well.

Mom came over to me so I stood up and the two of us exchanged a hug that was about as awkward as when I'd hugged dad. Then she sat on the sofa next to my brother while I sat back down with my girlfriend. And with everyone comfortable we all slowly got into some casual conversation.

Mom asked about school, then she asked how I was doing living with the Watsons. She asked if we did anything for thanksgiving there, and I explained that there'd be a big get-together tomorrow, when Amanda and Sadie were coming over with their girlfriends. We'd be doing a huge turkey dinner and everything for the whole extended family.

Then mom got Dylan to tell us about his first month at college. My brother acted about as awkward as the rest of us as he talked for a little while about that. When he ran out of things to say mom and dad talked about how the house was quiet and empty now, with both my brother and I gone.

At some point during all that my anxiety slowly faded away. The whole experience was actually a lot like the best parts of any other holiday we'd had. The only significant differences were the good ones, like my parents were actually talking with me and listening to me, and Dylan wasn't trying to push me around or talk over me.

After a little over an hour where we all got caught up on what everyone else was up to lately, mom got to her feet as she excused herself. "I need to check the turkey and do some last-minute work in the kitchen."

Without really thinking about it I offered, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Mom looked surprised, but she smiled "Sure Tally, that would be nice."

I followed her into the kitchen, and she gave me the really simple task of making the salad while she checked the turkey then got it out of the oven. And while it was resting she got started on the gravy.

"It's nice having help in the kitchen for a change," mom commented with a smile. "Do you help out with meals at the Watson house?"

I nodded, "Yeah. Not at first, but after I'd been with them a while they started getting me involved in stuff. Not just meals but chores and things? Like doing laundry, or helping keep the house clean and tidy."

"Beth's been teaching me to cook actually," I added. "She's really good at it."

Mom looked a little surprised by all that, but she didn't respond right away. I could guess what she was thinking about though.

She never got me or Dylan to help with housework or cooking or anything like that. There were other chores we had to do, and it was obvious what the difference was. My brother and I were expected to do the typical boy chores, like cutting the grass in summer and shovelling snow in the winter. Taking out the trash was another one. About the only 'housework' we ever had to do was washing dishes. But cooking or cleaning or doing laundry was stuff mom did, and she didn't even try to teach us how to do it.

"Beth's teaching you?" mom finally asked. "Not Ms. Watson?"

That made me smile a little, "Apparently Ms. Watson's been learning too. According to Beth and Jenny, their mom never really knew how to cook before? So Amanda and Sadie used to do it before, then Jenny and Beth took over. Now I help too. We take turns, every night it's a different person's turn to cook dinner for the family."

"Oh," mom looked thoughtful as she continued working on the gravy.

I had the salad all ready to go by that point, it just needed dressing. So mom gave me something else to do, and together we continued getting our thanksgiving dinner ready. I was still a little wary, but at the same time it was also kind of nice. It almost felt like the two of us were having a mother-daughter bonding moment.

At one point Bethany wandered into the kitchen too. She grimaced, "The boys are busy with football, so I figured I'd come and hang out with you two. Can I help with anything?"

Mom put my girlfriend to work as well, and between the three of us we quickly got the rest of our big turkey dinner ready. Me and Beth and mom all took a couple trips to get all the food out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Mom already had the fancy plates and cutlery set out on the table, and with everything ready to go I went and let dad and Dylan know it was time to eat.

The food was all really good. In addition to the turkey we had stuffing, squash, mashed potatoes, gravy, salad, and even bread rolls. It looked like way too much food, but then there'd be lots of leftovers.

There was more conversation too while we were all eating, me and Beth talked with my mom and dad some more. We talked about all sorts of stuff, but one thing I noticed was Dylan mostly just kept out of it.

He'd respond if someone asked him something directly, but he kept his answers short. And when it came to me, he wouldn't even really look at me when he spoke. I wasn't sure if it's because I made him that uncomfortable, or maybe he still thought I was a freak or something. But by that point, everything had gone so well that I actually felt confident enough to just ask my brother if he had a problem with me.

Except I knew he was going to say no and that would be that. Only now I was a witch, and I knew a spell that would let me know the truth, regardless of what he actually said. Even though Ms. Watson said no magic I didn't think this would be a problem, since it was just about knowledge and didn't do anything to anybody.

So I braced myself, mentally prepared the spell, then I addressed my brother. "Hey Dylan? It kind of feels like you're avoiding talking to me. Do you still have a problem with me, or with me and Bethany?"

"Nope," he shook his head, just like I figured. "No problem."

At the same time I got a glimpse of the truth. The real reason Dylon acted uneasy around me, the reason he avoided looking at or talking to me, was because he thought I was cute and hot, and that made him feel really uncomfortable.

It wasn't that he was attracted to me, or at least not entirely. He definitely thought I was attractive. And it wasn't that he thought I was weird or a freak. It just made him feel really strange knowing that the person he used to think of as his nerdy little brother was now a hot cute girl. Like if I could be a cute hot girl then anybody could. And that meant that any other cute hot girl he met might have also once been someone's brother or son or whatever.

I wasn't entirely sure what to make of all that, but then again neither was he. Mostly he seemed to have a lot on his mind, but the positive thing I took from it was rather than being angry or hateful, he was confused and trying to figure it out for himself. Which I took to be a good thing.

So I stopped worrying about what my big brother was thinking, and got back to enjoying the meal with my family again.

Eventually we'd all had enough to eat, then me and Bethany helped mom clear the table and stuff. We took a thirty or forty minute break before dessert while me and my girlfriend talked with my family some more, then mom brought out the pumpkin pie along with ice cream and whipped cream.

By the time it was almost eight o'clock I actually had to think for a few moments about whether or not I was ready to leave, or if I wanted to stay later and spend some more time with my family.

In the end I decided that yes I was ready to go, but the fact that I needed to think about it at all felt like a good sign. Like the visit hadn't been awful, we hadn't needed to leave early, and I actually had a good time.

Mom and dad were both a little sad when I announced it was time me and Bethany got ready to leave, but they didn't put up a fuss and they didn't complain. They both gave me hugs and thanked me for coming, and when my girlfriend and I headed out to the mini-van where Bethany's mom was waiting my mom and dad waved from the door.

"How did it go?" Ms. Watson asked, as she pulled out from the driveway once Beth and I had our seatbelts on and everything.

I thought for a second or two, then smiled "It was nice. I had a good time. But I'm glad we're going home now."

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